In the time it takes you to read this sentence, over 200,000,000 people will click on a YouTube video. In 24 hours, the number of YouTube videos viewed reaches almost 5,000,000,000.
Can a small business thrive using a YouTube marketing strategy? We’ll go ahead and give you the answer: YES.
Using YouTube marketing strategy for your business means free advertising, more website traffic, and better customer engagement. Why optimize your website for Google and Bing results and ignore 1.3 billion YouTube users? If you don’t think it’s worth the time commitment, you can join the other 91% of small businesses who are missing out.
Stop missing out! Keep reading to see what YouTube marketing strategy will do for your small business.
Why Use YouTube Marketing Strategy In Your Business?
Why not? What’s stopping you from taking advantage of this opportunity?
Some small business owners think that YouTube marketing is too difficult to handle. Others are worried it won’t be worth the investment. Before we show you the benefits of YouTube marketing strategy, let’s quench some concerns that might be holding you back.
It’s Free
If you’re worried that YouTube marketing isn’t worth the investment, consider this: YouTube is 100% free to use. The only money you invest is the amount you spend creating video content.
Here’s the perfect illustration.
That’s a link to a 10-minute video of someone taking a Nintendo 3DS out of a box and describing it. No special effects or music except a 5-second company logo at the beginning.
This type of video would cost you $0 to make and minimal time and effort. It would take one person less than an hour to make and post it.
That video has 894,456 views. And counting. It is the top Google search result for “3DS Unboxing.”
If that were your YouTube channel, then you would be the one telling hundreds of thousands of people about your company and/or products. And all it would cost you is about one hour of work.
It’s Easy
You just saw one example of how easy YouTube marketing strategy can be. But there’s more.
A video like the one above may or may not be ad-libbed. But even if you want to make scripted videos, writing them doesn’t have to cost you any time at all!
You already have a website full of content, right? Product descriptions, blog posts, infographics, mission statement… Every single page on your site can be the script for your next video.
It almost feels like cheating, but it works! Take whichever page on your site you most want to promote and turn it into a YouTube video.
Or build your YouTube channel the same way you built your website. What pages did you start with? About Us? Welcome? Coming Soon? Make it into a video!
What if you can’t get actors for your videos? Make it a PowerPoint slideshow with a voice-over, or even use simple, scrolling text.
And don’t worry that people will be annoyed by duplicate content. People searching YouTube may have never heard of your company or website. For them, repurposed content could be the “trailer” for your website.
For your regular site users, these videos are 2-minute summaries that help them better absorb or retain what they’ve read. Many of them are visual learners and may prefer your video content.
Another very easy way to produce extremely high-demand videos is with “how-to” instructional videos. YouTube viewers, especially mobile viewers, love how-to videos. It is the second-most viewed topic on YouTube under entertainment.
91% of smartphone users look to use their smartphones for answers on how to do a certain task. When people want to learn something new, fix their washing machine, or jump-start their car, they check YouTube for how to do it. Like unboxing and other product reviews, how-to videos are an easy, cheap way to show off your products and services.
Plus, people will be very appreciative of your help and impressed with your expertise. It’s likely they’ll subscribe or look to you for future how-to advice. How-to videos make you someone they can trust.
It’s Big
YouTube is the 2nd most used search engine in the world. It has 30 million visitors a day.
4,950,000,000 YouTube videos are viewed every day–1,000,000,000 of those are from mobile users.
YouTube broadcasts in 76 languages in over 88 countries. It reaches more 18-49-year-olds than any U.S. cable network.
It’s big. It’s easy. It’s free. What have you got to lose?
What YouTube Marketing Strategy Will Do For Your Business
With no more reasons not to use YouTube marketing strategy, it’s time to get started! Let’s check out what happens when you put your business on YouTube.
Corner the Market With YouTube
Now that you’ve decided to use YouTube marketing strategy, you have a secret edge over your competition.
Despite all the above benefits, only 9% of U.S. small businesses use YouTube. If we generalize, that means 9% of your competition. So, getting your business on YouTube automatically puts you ahead of 91% of American small businesses on the YouTube market.
What’s more: by 2021, video content will account for 82% of all IP traffic on the net. Taking advantage of YouTube marketing strategy right now is a very big deal.
And this doesn’t just help you in YouTube’s search rankings, but in Google’s as well. Since YouTube is owned by Google, relevant YouTube videos often appear on the first page of search results. Having YouTube videos makes your company more likely to appear in the top-ranking search results.
Free Advertising
As we said before, YouTube is 100% free advertising for your company. When you start on YouTube, you will automatically reach people you weren’t reaching before.
You can describe your company, products, and services to potentially billions of people who didn’t know you existed.
“Paid” Advertising
“Paid” YouTube advertising is another great option to explore. The reason “paid” is in quotes is that it’s still kind of free.
That is, you only pay if someone clicks on or interacts with your ad. In other words, you’re only paying if you’re getting something out of it.
Plus, there are a variety of quality advertising options to choose from like call-to-action links and other interactive elements. And you can target customers to optimize your success.
Grow Your New Business
With YouTube marketing strategy, you’re not just advertising for your current business. You’re also starting a lucrative new side-business!
You are putting out a new type of content to a brand new audience you didn’t have before. This new wing of your business is a business in and of itself!
In addition to advertising, here’s what you can do with your new YouTube business.
Make Money
First and foremost, you can make money with your YouTube videos, even if YouTube is your only business! First, use proper YouTube marketing strategy to optimize your videos for higher traffic. This includes strategic keyword use and creating consistent, quality content, much like SEO for a website.
Then you can monetize your videos. This option allows you to make money when other YouTube ads play before your videos.
Brand Your YouTube Channel
You don’t have to (and shouldn’t) keep the generic, default YouTube layout for your channel. Customize it to make it stand out as your brand’s official YouTube home.
Create a custom background to match your brand. Create playlists of related content or series of content. Add different sections on your channel homepage to showcase which playlists you want to be viewed the most.
Choose what video you want to play on your channel homepage and set it to autoplay. Having a video autoplay on your homepage will get you more views, which makes you rank higher in searches.
To visitors, the default YouTube channel layout looks like some random user’s unorganized collection of YouTube content. Customizing your channel will make visitors feel like they are in the world of your official brand.
Build New, Loyal Customer Base With Subscribers
Grow your new customer base in the form of subscribers. Always include a subscribe button. It’s easy for them to subscribe, and it’s easy for you to ask.
Remember, in the world of YouTube marketing, views equal money. And more subscribers equal more views.
So treat your YouTube audience the way you treat your other customers. Encourage them to subscribe, publish consistently, link to other content, grow your business.
Making money while promoting your company, what could be better?
Conversion: Grow Your Existing Business
Of course, the real reason you considered YouTube marketing strategy was to promote your existing business. The good news is, part of that happens automatically! By growing your YouTube business, you already are growing an extension of your current business.
The other good news is, you can use your YouTube channel as a conversion funnel to lead viewers and subscribers your business. Below are some ways you can use YouTube marketing strategy to convert views into lifelong customers.
Get More Website Traffic With YouTube Referrals
87% of customers will refer your company just because you ask. But only if you do ask, that is.
You know what else they’ll do if you ask? They’ll visit your website.
This is too important and too easy to ignore. Especially if your video is repurposed content from your site. Always ask viewers to subscribe, visit your website, purchase your products and view your other videos and they will do it.
A call-to-action at the end works great, but it’s not the only way. YouTube gives you a lot of options. You can put call-to-action buttons at the beginning, middle and/or end of your videos.
Get Better Website Traffic
The best part is that the traffic you bring your site through YouTube referrals is the best referral traffic you can get. Site visitors referred by YouTube are far more engaged than referral traffic from Facebook, Twitter, and other social media. They view more pages, stay longer on your site, and have a lower bounce rate than any other referral traffic on the internet.
With YouTube referrals, you don’t just get more traffic, you get better traffic.
Get Referrals
Remember: 87% of customers will refer your business if you ask them to. So ask! YouTube already makes your videos super-easy to share.
All you’re asking for is a couple mouse-clicks from someone who already enjoyed your video. If they liked it, why wouldn’t they share it? Because you forgot to ask, that’s why.
And don’t feel like it’s a pushy sales tactic; it’s not. You’re doing people a favor.
They are watching your video because it’s relevant to them. Since it’s helpful to them, ask them to share so it can help someone else, too! Your viewer will feel helpful for sharing, and your video will get referred to someone else who could benefit from it.
You know how important it is to target your audience when advertising. How nice would it be if your viewers target them for you?
Viewers share your video with people they think will benefit from it. Which means you’re getting referred to personally targeted leads.
This completes the conversion funnel cycle. Your viewers share your videos, which gets more viewers, then more shares, and so on. It will be a huge boost to your YouTube and website traffic.
Refer Yourself
Don’t forget you can also refer yourself! Now that you have a steady stream of video content, you can post it on all media outlets you manage.
Just like you link to your website in your videos, post your videos on your website! And not just your website, but your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, even Google+–anywhere you post updates.
Post or link to every YouTube video you make and keep the conversion cycle going.
Why Wait?
Ready to take advantage of easy, free advertising to millions of internet users your competitors aren’t reaching? With all these upsides and absolutely no downsides, what are you waiting for?
Get started with your YouTube marketing strategy now and take your business to the next level.
For more about YouTube marketing strategy, check out Using YouTube to Boost Your Network Marketing Business. Or contact us. We’ll be happy to explain how our experts can help you market your business.